1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surveillance system for use in areas where surveillance must be accomplished with ultimate discreetness, and to a method of manufacturing a coated globe or spherical dome used in the surveillance system. The inventive surveillance system is well suited for use in apartment buildings, warehouses, department stores, production lines, convention halls, embassies, cold environments, chemically dangerous environments, and the like.
Many types of surveillance systems are known. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,380, there is disclosed a semi-cylindrical ceiling-mounted surveillance system for a supermarket and the like. Hemispherical ceiling-mounted systems can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,739,703 and 3,819,856; and generally, spherical surveillance systems are also known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,720,147, 3,732,368 and 3,916,097.
While each of these known surveillance systems offers some surveillance capabilities with a certain amount of discreetness, there are still many disadvantages in the art left to be overcome. For example, in most of the known surveillance systems, the presence of a camera can be relatively easily detected. Alternatively, if the camera is sufficiently masked, not enough light is transmitted to the camera through various shields used to mask the camera thereby creating problems maximizing image input to the camera.
The prior art has directed itself to overcoming the problems noted above. To prevent back light from highlighting the interior surveillance camera, separate and complex masking elements have been provided. To further camouflage the camera, the prior art has gone to decorative designs and the like to direct the attention of the viewer away from the camera. Yet, in some prior art devices, in order to improve the photographic image, the lens of the camera is exposed through a small opening or a scanning slit, which is not even masked.
Accordingly, many problems still exist in the art of discreet surveillance systems which are yet to be overcome. The present invention is directed to a surveillance system and a method of making a coated globe used with the system, which system and method minimize or entirely overcome most of the known problems.